In an advance phone call with BuzzFlash and other selected members of the press, former Vice President Al Gore announced a major speech in Los Angeles on Wednesday, February 16, 2004, about the importance of the Kyoto Protocol going into effect, President Bush's leadership vacuum on the issue, and new efforts to get the auto industry to drop its lawsuit against California and other states that are enacting laws to force the auto industry to create vehicles that pollute less. READ MORE: